Talk about history NOT repeating itself: Democrat Morgan Carroll became the second woman to lead the Colorado Senate, but she did it without any Republican opposition.

In 2005, four Republicans voted against the nomination of Democrat Joan Fitz-Gerald, the first woman president of the Colorado Senate. Tradition calls for the entire minority party to vote for the person nominated by the majority party but that unwritten protocol was breached.

Carroll’s nomination was seconded by Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, although he earlier had expressed misgivings about her taking the top job in the Senate.

Here’s what happened in 2005:

By Lynn Bartels and Peggy Lowe
Rocky Mountain News

In a day filled with snow and show, Democrats on Wednesday took control of the Colorado legislature with pledges to fix the budget and get the state’s economy moving again.

But in ceremonies usually marked by pomp and good will, a leading Republican spoiled the party by trying to block the nomination of new Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald.

A year ago when Mark Ferrandino became the House minority leader, some media outlets wrongly declared the Denver Democrat the first openly gay lawmaker to serve in leadership in the Colorado legislature.

Jennifer Veiga

Actually, he was the second.

The first was then-Rep. Jennifer Veiga, a Denver Democrat.

She publicly revealed she was gay in 2002 when she learned Republicans were going to out her on the campaign trail although everyone at the Capitol, including lobbyists and staff, already knew. She brought her partner with her to legislative events since first being elected in 1996.

Ferrandino today will truly make history when he becomes the powerful speaker of the Colorado House. The nomination by his peers is all the more dramatic because the man turning over the gavel, Republican Frank McNulty, on the second to last day of the 2012 session killed Ferrandino’s civil-unions bill in one of the most dramatic moments in legislative history in decades.

I was curious to see whether a big deal was made when Veiga became the House minority leader after the 2002 election so I searched both the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News archives. I didn’t find the word “gay,” but I did find the word “women” and “glass ceiling” in several articles.

Call pointed to a recent interview with Rick Palacio, chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party, who told The Denver Post “What this caucus is about, is just, it’s really a way for the president’s supporters to show their enthusiasm” and “The caucus … is about showing that enthusiasm and coming together as a party.”

“If Democrats in Colorado are really as enthusiastic about the re-election of Barack Obama as their state chairman promises they are, we should expect Democratic caucus turnout today that meets or exceeds the turnout of 120,971 the Democrats saw in 2008,” Call wrote in a news release.

Said Palacio: “It is a preposterous claim on Ryan Call’s part that if we don’t have more than 120,000 people tonight it’s a failure.”

Palacio also pointed out the congressional races for Democrats are basically opponent free in this year’s primary. In 2008, an open seat in the 2nd Congressional District featured Democrats Wil Shafroth, Joan Fitz-Gerald and Jared Polis vying for the nomination.

Senate President Brandon Shaffer reiterated today he has no plans to resign his leadership position because of his run for Congress.

[media-credit name=”Special To The Denver Post, David Zalubowski” align=”alignright” width=”275″][/media-credit]

Senate President Brandon Shaffer, a Longmont Democrat.

Shaffer said he is able to “prioritize” his duties, whether it’s as a family man, lawmaker, Senate president or candidate.

The Longmont Democrat announced last summer he was running against U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma. Although the newly drawn 4th Congressional District makes it even tougher for a Democrat to win, Shaffer said during an editorial board meeting at The Denver Post he hasn’t changed his plans.

“I am still running for Congress, and I have no intentions of stepping down as Senate president,” he said.

There’s definitely precedence for him staying on the job. Republican Tom Norton remained as Senate president in 1998 after announcing he planned to run for governor. Senate Democrats couldn’t complain: their minority leader, Mike Feeley, also was running for governor.

You have to love this lead: “Northern Colorado has its first breakout cable TV stars since Balloon Boy.”

It was written by Bob Moore of the Fort Collins’ Coloradoan, referring to the Liberty Leaders, a fife-and-drum duo who were regulars at at Northern Colorado Tea Party rallies for nearly two years.

John Weins, left, and Mel Hilgenberg, The Liberty Leaders, perform for the crowd gathered during the Northern Colorado Tax Day Tea Party in Fort Collins in April. They've since split up. (AP Photo/Fort Collins Coloradoan, Dawn Madura)

After Moore reported the two had split because of differences in the Larimer County sheriff’s GOP primary, the duo appeared last night on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

“Weins wore a Bruning campaign T-shirt and tri-cornered hat for his appearance. Hilgenberg didn’t wear any Revolutionary War-era garb because Weins took it back … ,” Moore wrote of their TV appearance.

I happened to catch the show while channel surfing (What happened to all those Law & Orders? Where did they go?).

Labor guru Ellen Golombek is coming back to Colorado to serve as the state director for America Votes.

She will be one of 10 field directors working in 14 battleground states for America Votes, a coalition of the largest progressive groups in the country.

“Ellen is one of the best political minds we ever had in Colorado,” said America Votes President Joan Fitz-Gerald.

The two women have known each other since 2000, when Golombek, who worked 10 years for the Colorado AFL-CIO, helped Democrats take control of the state Senate for first time since 1962. Fitz-Gerald, who was running for the Senate that year, went on to become Senate president.

“Ellen is a very politically sophisticated,” said Fitz-Gerald, who now works in Washington. “She knows how to count votes and how territory is covered.

Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry made at least one lobbyist happy when he praised former President Joan Fitz-Gerald in his opening-day speech.

“The thing I liked most about Joan was that you could have a spirited – even heated – argument with her about one issue in the morning, only to be in her office cutting a deal and making important compromise by the noon hour,” said Penry, a Grand Junction Republican.

Lobbyist Mary Alice Mandarich served as chief of staff when Fitz-Gerald, a Jefferson County Democrat, was in office.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.